A comedian at Cannes made a rape joke to Woody Allen's face and got gasps

Though the Cannes Film Festival is known for being the most
glamorous festival in the world, it’s also known for its shocking
moments, especially in the relatively polite world of cinema.

The latest was at its opening ceremony on Wednesday when Laurent
Lafitte, a French comedian and the master of ceremonies of the
festival, joked about Woody Allen’s rape allegations.

Lafitte addressed Allen, whose latest film “Cafe Society” kicked
off the festival, and said to his face, "You've shot so many of
your films here in Europe and yet in the U.S. you haven't even
been convicted of rape."

A staffer at The Hollywood Reporter captured the remark in a
picture he tweeted:

Shocking opening joke: Woody Allen thanked for shooting films in Europe, but in US he's not been convicted of rape. pic.twitter.com/qujgnRMrKO

The comment is likely also a reference to another Cannes regular,
director Roman Polanski, who lives in Europe and hasn’t been back
to the US since the 1970s, when he was convicted of unlawful sex
with a 13-year-old.

Earlier in the day on Wednesday, The Hollywood Reporter ran an
opinion piece by Ronan Farrow, son of Allen and Mia Farrow,
calling out the media for not asking Allen for years about
the allegations by his sister, Dylan Farrow, that Allen sexually
assaulted her when she was seven years old.

At the press conference the same day for Woody Allen's new film
that he attended, no reporters brought up the sex abuse
allegations.